After 15 years, the anime reboot fans never thought would actually happen is finally here – and is already a huge hit

The long-awaited Spice and Wolf reboot has finally released its first episode, and it's already proving to be a hit amongst anime fans. The nostalgia looks to be hitting heavy with lovers of the source material and the reactions so far are glowing...

Based on the Japanese light novel by Isuna Hasekura, the new show - which is officially titled Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf follows nomadic salesman Kraft Lawrence. "Wandering from town to town with just his horse, cart, and whatever wares have come his way, the peddler has pretty well settled into his routine," the official synopsis reads. "That is, until the night Lawrence finds a wolf goddess asleep in his cart. 

"Taking the form of a fetching girl with wolf ears and a tail, Holo has wearied of tending to harvests in the countryside and strikes up a bargain with the merchant to lend him the cunning of 'Holo the Wisewolf' to increase his profits in exchange for taking her along on his travels. Who could turn down such an offer? Lawrence soon learns, though, that having an ancient goddess as a travelling companion can be a bit of a mixed blessing. Will this wolf girl turn out to be too wild to tame?"

"Good remake, there's bound to be some differences from the original but still worth watch, especially as the original was about 2008/2009," an enthusiastic viewer wrote on Crunchyroll, referencing Imagin's earlier two-season adaptation. "This is the start of a beautiful romance that has its ups and downs. Well worth watching."

"This anime is something truly special," said another. "For those who like romance series this will be one of your favorites of all time, and even for those who don't enjoy romance its a must watch. Such a fun and interesting watch and covers topics that aren't usually covered in anime. Unique, beautiful, wholesome fun."

Spice and Wolf seems to be popular with those who weren't previously familiar with it, too, with one new fan admitting on Reddit: "I haven't seen the first anime nor read the novel, but I liked this episode A LOT. I'm getting the same feeling as when I watched the first episode of Frieren or Mushoku Tensei."

"I'm so happy that one of my favourite anime of all time is back. And man this is already a good remake," wrote another. "Kevin Penkins went ALL OUT on the OST, the animation and pacing is great, the original VAs are back... all I can pray now is a potential full adaptation."

Check out some more reactions to the first episode from Twitter...

Spice and Wolf airs on Tuesdays at 1:30am in Japan, before releasing each weekly episode on global streaming platform Crunchyroll. For more, check out our guide to the best anime shows you need to be watching in 2024.